Not Just Parking Lots Anymore

Taylor Gourmet Deli

This afternoon I made a trip east to Taylor Gourmet Deli at 1116 H Street NE. Taylor is a Philadelphia themed deli and italian store that opened earlier this month.

I knew I was in for a long wait the moment I walked through the front door. Over twenty people were lined up along the wall and counters near the open kitchen. The space was deep and narrow with exposed brick, wood that looked like it was salvaged from a ship wreck and stainless steel abound. The owners replaced the aluminum garage door the property previously had with a glass garage door that allowed for considerable natural light.

The sandwich selection includes two dozen variations of hoagies of chicken cutlet sandwiches all named after streets and landmarks in Philly. The menu also offers a sausage sandwich, arugla salads, risotto balls, ravioli and mozzarella sticks. Taylor uses the freshest ingredients with cured meats and cheeses from Italy and hoagie rolls delivered daily from Sarcone’s bakery. Among the snacks offered are Herr’s chips and tastykakes.

After brief deliberation I decided on the “Art Museum” chicken cutlet sandwich and the toasted “Ridge Ave Raviolis”. I slowly slurped down several refills of my delicious Boylan‘s diet rootbeer while I waited, waited and waited.

By this time I positioned myself at a vantage point along the counter where I could see what order tickets were actively being worked on. Over an hour elapsed before my order was fulfilled. My patience was not rewarded. Despite twice uttering aloud “Art Museum” co-owner David Mazza apparently made my sandwich with prosciutto rather than roasted red peppers which is the “Penn Square”. I had to pick off the prosciutto and redress my cutlet with fixings from my fridge.

Today’s experience was not good but I see the potential and I will be back. Considering the marinara with my ravioli was fantastic I may try the “Benjamin Franklin” next time. The sausage sandwich also looked enticing. I just don’t think my next visit is going to be very soon as the crowds are leading to heavy waits.

Comments

Waits can be really long…but did you know they’ll deliver to a pretty broad area for the $2 delivery fee? And we’ve always gotten our delivery in about 30 minutes (granted, we’re only about 5 blocks away). Order has never been wrong in 2 deliveries and 1 walk-in/carryout today. But my wait for carry-out today was pretty long-I’ll stick to delivery whenever possible…

Wow… I went there recently and I got my order in about ten minutes. The mozzarella stick are REALLY good. The sandwiches are tasty and all of the ingredients taste VERY fresh. Hopefully you can have a better experience next time…

Nice addition to the ‘hood, but the service really is as though you barged into somebody’s house unannounced and demanded hoagies; they need to get their act together — stacking up tickets in order and putting meat on bread is not rocket science.

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Thais Austin has lived in the Mount Vernon Triangle since 2006 with her dog Davis. She is an active community volunteer with the Mount Vernon Square Neighborhood Association, Mount Vernon Triangle CID, and with the DC Association of REALTORS. She brings to the blog a background in journalism, urban planning, and real estate and development. She is a REALTOR with Long and Foster, officing out of both Logan Circle and Bethesda Gateway locations and can be contacted at thais@lnf.com.